Posted on 08/08/2011 2:23:04 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
A majority of voters reject the depiction of Tea Party activists as “terrorists,” a new Rasmussen poll shows … but not a terribly large majority, given the ridiculously demagogic attack it represents. Fifty-five percent say that the Tea Party didn’t act like “economic terrorists” during the negotiations over the debt ceiling and deficit spending, while 29% — more than one in four voters — see equivalency between the Tea Party’s use of representative government and, say, al-Qaeda:
Democrats and their media friends have charged the Tea Party with being economic terrorists during the congressional budget debates, but most voters don’t see it that way.
Fifty-five percent (55%) of Likely U.S. Voters, in fact, say members of the Tea Party are not economic terrorists. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 29% believe Tea Party members have been terrorists during the budget debates, while another 16% are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Perhaps tellingly, while 53% of Democrats view Tea Party members as terrorists, 57% of voters not affiliated with either major party disagree, as do 74% of Republicans.
Interestingly, despite the 29% who claim that the Tea Party is a terrorist organization, only 43% think that they made the situation worse in the negotiations. That mostly comes from Democrats (7/73), while Republicans are supportive of their role (53/17). Independents are split evenly at 37%, with 14% saying no impact and 12% unsure. That doesn’t indicate too much danger for the GOP sticking to Tea Party principles in the fight over spending and debt.
On the sales pitch for the Tea Party as a form of economic terrorism, Democrats seem to be ringing up mainly a No Sale. They get a majority among self-described liberals, but not a terribly impressive one (55/31) and almost an even split among black voters, their most loyal constituency (45/42). Independents reject it in almost the same ratio as the general sample, 21/57, as do self-described moderates, 29/50). The negative gets a majority response in every age demographic, and majorities or pluralities in every income demographic, even the <$20K category (31/45).
The fact that they can even get 29% to agree that pursuing policy changes through representative government is akin to “terrorism” is depressing, but it has a silver lining. It looks like Democrats and self-professed liberals are marginalizing themselves fast in this media meme du jour.
On that note, here’s a video from a friend of mine in the Twin Cities area. Sunny’s production needs a little tweaking, but she captures the disconnect between this meme and reality, and the impossible nature of the sales pitch:
No amount of blogging their progressive communistic DNC lies can change the fact that they are the minority. I watched the comments on Obama’s FB page this morning.
Interesting...before he talked there were ignorant comments galore on both Bushes committing treason for their wars (HELLO Obama is engaged in more wars and funds terrorists outright) Using derogatory tea bagger language. I really think it was WH DUmmies operatives as when Obama was talking and after wards ALL of the comments were negative of Obama and his loser lying speech. So Obama’s operatives were too busy biting thir nals like rahm to comment.
29% is too high I would say 23% is more accurate.They are the minority.
Sen. Harry Reid: ‘The Tea Party Will Disappear as Soon as Economy Gets Better’
VIDEO http://www.mediaite.com/tv/sen-harry-reid-the-tea-party-will-disappear-as-soon-as-economy-gets-better/
by Frances Martel | 1:15 pm, January 8th, 2011
» 32 comments
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid– who almost lost his job in a tight race against Tea Party candidate Sharron Angle– seems much more confident in the challenge the Democrats face from that faction now than ever before. In a preview for an exclusive interview with Meet the Press’s David Gregory airing tomorrow, Reid contends that the Tea Party will be a thing of the past as soon as his Congress can fix the economy– a goal not so far off the horizon.
Asked about the challenged from Angle and, more extensively, whether the Tea Party was a “lasting force in American politics,” Reid replied with little hesitation that the economy created the Tea Party, and the economy has the power to destroy it. With confidence in the work the government is doing to repair the damage in the economic sector, Reid believes it will take little to take down the movement:
“The Tea Party was born because of the economy. The economy is probably the worst it’s ever been except for maybe the Great Depression. The Tea Party will disappear as soon as the economy gets better– and the economy is getting better all the time.”
A bold prediction, and one that the Tea Party will either take as a shot to their legitimacy or mere wishful thinking, both on the “better economy” front and on the short half-life of the Tea Party. Giving his fellow Democrats in Congress a light at the end of the tunnel however, especially after the November midterm elections, is likely a smart move for morale as Majority Leader.
Half of them, 14%, are on food stamps...
The news is that a huge majority ain't buying this.
13% of the 29% are black fools and tools.
Isn’t that about the same as the percentage of those who self-identify as liberals? In that case, no surprise!
“I thought Harry Reid said the Tea Party is dying off and won’t be an issue in 2012 elections, but all of a sudden we are super powerful terrorists??????”
World history begins when a liberal awakes in the morning. Anything said yesterday didn’t happen. Truth is what they say today. We have always been at war with EastAsia.
Welcome to 1984.
29% of a glorious nation infected with a malevolent, cancerous rot.
I agree there are at least 29% hopeless idiots in the US.
Let's see, 100 take away 29 leaves 71. Then that must mean that:
Rasmussen: 71% agree with “Tea Party”
What with the entire Corporate Media and the Republicrat/Dumobcan Party Establishment bad mouthing the Tea Party 24/7 I’m surprised the number is that low.
Not all of the non-taxpayers agree because 48% pay no taxes. I would say the 29% are composed of the liberal elite, a bunch of useful idiots, and the majority of the welfare dead-enders.
OK. Before they asked the question, they should have asked the respondents whether they support spending more than we have and increasing that amount exponentially. Probably 90% would say: “NO! That’s STUPID!” Then they could say the Tea Party opposes going further into debt. Do you agree? Again, you’d probably get 90% agreeing. But the trained seals who think the Tea Party are “terrorists” are just mindlessly aping what they’ve been spoon fed by the media.
The Tea Party patriots are to Obama as the Jews were to Hitler.
That was my thought too.
They’re moved by emotion, and too drugged to handle their emotions... they’d believe mostly anything. Others are simply idiots, indeed. Also, there’s a number of people that makes chaos and destruction their way of life. That said, it’s Rasmussen; i’d expect the real stats to be way lower.
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